Garden of Antiquities
by BirdSpell
Summary: Yao has walked past the antiques shop a hundred times. But he's never gone in… not until he needs an ancient item to study, and it's not like he has to buy it, right? But the shop owner's son is far more interesting than studying. ChuNi.


**This is Guest's prize for the Broken Assassin contest. The request was for China or Japan in modern times. So ChuNi. Because why the fuck not?**

**Kiku: Why the fuck not indeed…**

**Why are you here?! Stop crashing my oneshots!**

**Kiku: *ignoring me* At least I'm human this time.**

**Gilbert: Stop complaining! At least you're getting requested, unlike me, which is totally unawesome by the way!**

**You wouldn't say that if you**

**_were_ requested, Gil. Now then, how about you do the disclaimer and get lost, hm?**

**Gilbert: Ugh, fine. The bitch- I mean, author, doesn't own Hetalia. Or Netflix. I'm gonna go bug West. *leaves***

**Ludwig isn't even in Broken Assassin, though! Oh, forget it. Asshole.**

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The antiques shop was a tiny little thing.

Yao had walked past it a hundred times. The shop with its _Garden of Antiquities_ sign painted fading gold and wooden steps creaking whenever someone touched them, which was frequently. The Chinese student often wondered why anyone went in there. Those among his friends who did said he wouldn't believe them if he told them. But he didn't care enough to find out.

But now he had no choice. "Study an artifact from any time period but the current one," his teacher had said. And Garden of Antiquities was the only place one could find anything like an artifact. So Yao walked up the creaky steps and opened the door.

Suddenly, he wasn't surprised why Francis, the school pervert, and Gaius, Lovino and Feliciano's grandfather and the town pervert, raved about this place, because the kid sitting on the counter was stunning.

His raven hair fell into his eyes, which were the color of melted dark chocolate and midnight. He was intently focused on the delicate pink cherry blossoms sitting in a bowl in front of him, carefully arranging the flowers into just the right positions. His skin was pale, and he was so slender and beautiful that Yao mistook him for a girl at first. He coughed, and the boy looked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was distracted, Mr… um…"

"Wang Yao," the Chinese student muttered, concentrating on how adorable the kid looked, all flustered and apologetic.

"Mr. Wang, uh, _hai_, I'll remember that."

"And you?"

The boy looked confused. "Me?"

"What's your name?" Yao reiterated. "You know mine, I want to know yours."

"Oh. It's Honda Kiku."

"Ah, Kiku, _mon cher_!" Francis exclaimed as he swept in. "I need your help for a school project-" He stopped. "Ah, Yao, _bonjour_~! Finally decided to check this place out?" By 'this place' Francis meant 'this kid', if the way he was pretty much undressing Kiku with his eyes was any indication. The boy blushed softly.

"Y-you two know each other?"

Yao shrugged. "In the same university course. That's actually why I'm here."

"Oh, of course. So, what project is this?"

"Studying an artifact," Yao jumped in before Francis could say anything. "And as this is the only antiques place in town…"

"Even if there was another, we'd still come here, _cher_," Francis added.

"_Arigato_, Francis," Kiku hummed. "I have to finish this for my painting class, so could you show Mr. Wang around?"

"Of course, Kiku." Francis grabbed Yao's arm and dragged him off. Glancing over his shoulder, the Chinese man could see Kiku pulling out a sketchpad and pencil. Francis pulled him into a back room and shut the door.

"Do you understand why we all come here now?"

"Is no one in this town straight?" Yao wondered aloud. Francis shrugged.

"The ones who are are either female or think he's a girl. Easy mistake to make."

It was… hard to disagree with that. On to the next point. "He said something about painting class?"

"Oh. _Mais oui_, you have classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, right? Kiku's an art and history major; his classes are on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He works here the rest of the time. It's good for him; gives him something to draw. And the money is good, I hear."

"All these antiques, and he's drawing flowers?"

Francis shrugged. "Flowers are… his _thing_, I suppose you could say. He likes them."

Yao nodded. "Is he single, do you know?"

Francis chuckled. "_Cher_, no one has ever successfully asked Kiku out. If you manage it, you will be most respected."

"Well look at that, extra incentive."

Francis laughed. "I'll show you where the best stuff is."

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He'd aced the essay, and the following test.

It was Wednesday afternoon, classes had just let out, and Yao was celebrating by going back to Garden of Antiquities to see what he could learn; about the artifacts, and more importantly, about Kiku.

The bell above the door rang gently, and Kiku looked up from his seat on the counter and the delicate teapot he'd been using. "Ah, Mr. Wang! Good to see you again; sorry, I was just-"

Yao waved a hand. "It's fine. I just wanted to look around a bit. And my name's Yao; being called Mr. Wang makes me feel old."

"Yao, of course. Ah, if you don't mind, I'll just…" Kiku went back to his tea, and Yao went to lean against the counter.

"That's a gorgeous teapot~aru."

"It is, isn't it?" Kiku agreed. "Centuries old. You'd be amazed what this place gets its hands on; some of the displays come from the museum, since more people visit here than there." The town museum wasn't very popular. This place, however… It made sense the displays would go here instead.

"If it's so old, why are you using it?"

Kiku poured two cups of tea, setting the pot to the side. "Some things are made to be used. Technically I'm not supposed to be making tea in this, but…"

"It would be a waste if something so beautiful sat in a glass cage for all time," Yao murmured. "I understand."

Kiku smiled, pushing a teacup towards him. "I thought you would."

The bell above the door rang. "Kiku, you'd better not be distracting the customers again!"

The Japanese boy quickly held the teapot below the counter. "No, Mr. Braginski! We were just-"

ao quickly stepped in. "He was helping me with something I was doing for school. I did an essay on a Ming vase you have here; he was just answering a few questions for me."

"Ah." Ivan Braginski, the shop's owner and a well-feared member of society, nodded. "Good! Well, I'll be upstairs, da? Good luck with your work! But I can't encourage you to stay here if you're not buying anything, so try to finish up."

Kiku breathed a sigh of relief as Ivan left. "_Arigato_, Yao. If he caught me using this…"

Yao grinned. "Not a problem. But I do need to know more about the vase… For school, you know…"

Kiku glanced at the stairs. His eyes glimmered with mischief. "Two o' clock, Sunday afternoon. Mr. Braginski isn't here on Sundays, and neither of us have classes. I'll leave the door unlocked."

"What, like a study date~aru?"

"Something like that," the boy agreed. "If you like."

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Sunday didn't come fast enough.

Yao hadn't told a soul about his little 'study date' with Kiku. It was probably just that; a study date. No real meaning to it. But if it meant something more… Well. That would be nice.

But here he was, standing outside Garden of Antiquities, two o' clock sharp. Yao walked up the creaky stairs and pushed the door open. The bell seemed to have been disconnected, and Kiku wasn't in the place Yao had grown accustomed to seeing him. The Chinese student walked up the stairs to the back, entering what looked like a storeroom. No sign. He went through the only other door-

And gasped.

A garden; a beautiful garden of cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums. Kiku sat under a tree, playing an intricately decorated little flute with his eyes shut. As Yao watched, he put down the flute and lifted the same teapot he'd used last time, holding it up to the light appraisingly.

The other stepped forward and coughed lightly. Kiku jumped, the teapot slipping through his fingers. Yao caught it before it could hit the ground. "Careful with that. It's centuries old~aru. Wouldn't want to break it."

Kiku laughed, embarrassed. He took the pot from Yao and rested it on the bench he was sitting on. "Of course. I apologize; you startled me."

"Did you forget I was coming?"

Kiku just laughed, pulling a familiar vase up beside him. "This is the one you were working on, right? Please, sit."

Yao smiled and joined him.

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They talked for hours. It was nice, just working away, talking quietly. And when the day was spent, Kiku leaned closer and murmured, "Meet me here next week. Noon."

And Yao did.

Every single week, the two of them met there, discussing everything and nothing, making tea with ancient teapots while Kiku played his flute. For months they did that, just chattering away. Kiku learned Yao was the eldest of five siblings—him, Xiang, Mei, and the twins, Im Yong Soo and Hyung Soo—while Yao discovered that Kiku's older sister, Lien, was a fashion designer living in Vietnam. And they both aced every assignment when they worked together.

Then one day Kiku suggested they have a sleepover; lying in the rooftop garden eating marshmallows and chocolate while discussing whatever shitty movie they watched on Netflix. Yao agreed, and they decided to meet up Saturday night.

They spent hours murmuring together on the roof. They were so engrossed in conversation they didn't notice how cold it was getting, until a particularly icy gust forced Kiku to pull his arms around himself as he shivered. Yao noticed and held out a hand. "Come here~aru."

Kiku blushed heavily, but did as the elder man said. He pressed himself comfortably against Yao's warm side, snuggling into the probably very pleasant body heat. "A_-Arigato_. This is… very nice." He yawned, burrowing a little deeper. Yao rested an arm around his friend's shoulders, his cheek coming to rest on the boy's head. Kiku glanced up at him, confused.

"You know," Yao said suddenly, "I heard a story in Wednesday's class about the Greek sirens. They were beautiful women so lured sailors onto rocks, where they drowned."

"There's a vase inside with that story on it," Kiku said. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

Yao shrugged, ignoring Kiku's soft whine as he was forced to shift positions. "I just saw something as beautiful as a siren, that's all."

"What do you-" Kiku froze. "Oh," he breathed. "Oh."

Yao couldn't help but smile as Kiku shifted upwards to press a soft, shy kiss to the side of his lips.

And the two of them settled happily into their garden for the night, surrounded by the artifacts that had orchestrated their meeting.

(The most amusing part was the next morning, when Yao told Francis and the others what had transpired.)

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**Kiku: What the…**

**Didn't I tell you to get lost?**

**Kiku: You told Gilbert to get lost.**

**Fuck you. What are you, a lawyer?**

**Kiku: I've been considering it.**

**KILL ALL THE LAWYERS. Now get lost.**

**Okay, translations! I'm adding this based on a suggestion by plumeria-hi, since she-It is she, right? It'd be awkward if I got that wrong-said she couldn't understand the French. Sorry about that; in Canada we have to take French grades 4-9, so I sometimes forget not everyone knows basic phrases. Although the only thing I can say fluently is _je ne pas parle le français_, which means I do not speak French. Logic? What's that?**

_**Hai (Japanese)- Yes**_

_**Mon cher (French)- My dear**_

_**Bonjour (French)- Hello**_

_**Arigato (Japanese)- Thank you**_

_**Mais oui (French)- But yes/but of course**_

**And I think that's it.**

**Anyways… There's another hint for the Broken Assassin contest in this. Okay, it's late, I'm sleepy, that's all you're getting. See ya!**

**Bye~!**

**-Bird**


End file.
